The Chippewa Cree Tribe and two tribal citizens have filed a federal lawsuit against Chouteau County, arguing the county’s at-large system for electing commissioners unlawfully dilutes Native votes and has left them without representation. The lawsuit is backed by the Native American Rights Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project, and the ACLU of Montana.
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Filed August 14th in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, the complaint says Native voters, who make up about one-third of Chouteau County’s voting-age population, have consistently been unable to elect a commissioner of their choice. All three current commissioners have been elected and re-elected under the county’s at-large system for at least a decade.
Under the at-large system, all voters in the county cast ballots for every commissioner, instead of electing commissioners by district. The lawsuit argues this structure disadvantages Native voters by allowing the majority population to dominate all three seats.
Samantha Blencke, Senior Staff Attorney and the lead attorney on the case with the Native American Rights Fund says, “Because Native voters are a political minority, the system essentially cancels out their votes before they even cast them. They’ll never be able to elect their candidate of choice under this at-large system.”
Blencke says courts have repeatedly struck down similar systems in Montana and across the country, explaining, “This has happened in Montana several times as well, in Blaine County and Big Horn County, and in Roosevelt County, all of those counties used at-large electoral districts that were deemed in violation of Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.”
This lawsuit also claims Chouteau County is in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act, specifically section 2, which prohibits electoral systems that give minority voters less opportunity than other members of the electorate to elect their candidate of choice.
On Rocky Boy’s Reservation, voters say the lack of representation has lasting consequences.
Jonathan Windy Boy, the tribe’s Historic Preservation Officer and a Montana State Senator for District 16, says Native voters have been left out of county decision-making for far too long. Windy Boy says, “It been too long that we haven't been represented, it's been too long that we haven't had a voice.”
Windy Boy pointed to the long history of Native exclusion from the political process, noting it wasn’t until 1924 that Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship, and 1964 before the Voting Rights Act secured the right to vote. “As far as the representation for our needs and for the things that we stand for, it’s unfortunate that it took so long,” he says, “And these actions have to be done in the realm of the courts to settle these things.”
The lawsuit argues Native voters in Chouteau County have been shut out of local decision-making for decades. Many critical issues, including road maintenance, emergency services, and coordination with tribal government, are decided at the county level, but without Native voices at the table.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to order a remedy in time for the November 2026 election. That could mean creating single-member districts, ensuring Native voters have a fair chance at electing a commissioner who reflects their community.
Blencke said this case is part of a broader pattern, saying, “Unfortunately, this system of silencing Native votes is quite common, especially in smaller jurisdictions. It’s a leftover from the Jim Crow era that ensures minority communities can never elect their candidate of choice.”
